Do This, Not That for the Holidays

24 December 2012No Comment

By now, most people are familiar with the popular “Eat This, Not That” food craze that shows you healthier alternatives to some of your favorite dishes. With the holiday season here, you probably know by now which dishes to avoid. But, what about alternatives to different holiday traditions? If you’re looking for a different way to tackle some tasks this holiday season, here are some great alternatives.

Holiday Cards

Sending a holiday card is an easy and inexpensive way of showing those who live near and far that you’re thinking about them during the holiday season. You could throw a few boxes of store bought cards in your basket the next time you’re out shopping, but why not make your own holiday cards? You can create some truly festive holiday cards using cardstock, glue, felt, and yarn. If your kids are old enough, let them assist with the process.

Cut your cardstock to a size that will fit into a standard size envelope and then create your felt stencils using some additional (or scrap pieces) of cardstock. Your stencils can be any shape you desire, but trees and ornaments are probably going to be the easiest for mass production. After cutting out all the adornments for your cards, glue them onto the front of your cards. Using yarn, tie small bows and cut short pieces of ribbon to represent the hooks from which the ornaments hang. If you’re creating trees, use glitter pens to dab on some sparkly ornaments.

Once your cards have completely dried, write a holiday message for the intended recipient. Don’t worry; your greeting doesn’t have to be something you’d find in a store-bought card. A thoughtful note will be enough to show the recipient that you care about them – and they’ll be wowed by the crafty card you’ve sent their way.

When it comes to mailing holiday gifts or sending out corporate gifts, people often resort to sending the traditional chocolate boxes. Why not send them something a little out of the ordinary? Instead of sending only sweets, consider sending a teddy bear gift basket from The Serious Teddy Bear Company. They have a variety of bears for all sorts of holidays, but they also feature a holiday gift bear basket that comes with Hershey’s kisses, gourmet jellybeans, chocolate cookies, and a soft teddy bear.

If you think your recipient won’t be wooed with a teddy bear basket, consider signing them up to receive gift baskets each month. Birchbox will send your recipient a box of beauty products to sample each month, and OliveBox will send a package of handmade paper craft items, including note cards and artwork.

Christmas Morning Breakfast

You might have fond memories of waking up Christmas morning to a mound of presents and later enjoying a hot breakfast that Mom made. While these warm and fuzzy memories were great for you, chances are good Mom would have liked someone serving her breakfast. Instead making your holiday breakfast on Christmas morning, create a breakfast casserole dish that you can prepare the night before.

If you are looking for a sweet breakfast casserole recipe, try Paula Deen’s baked French toast casserole, complete with gooey maple syrup. If your family isn’t one to overload on sweets early in the morning, consider the savory eggs Portugal, which features sausage, eggs, cheese, and bread. This year, you can pop your breakfast casserole in the oven before you begin opening presents and have a hot meal ready by the time the last gift is unwrapped.

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